Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”
Parallel translations
- WEB God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
- KJV And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
- NKJV Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
- NASB Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.”
- NLT Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God resolves to make humanity in his image to rule over creation. People uniquely bear God's likeness and represent his rule on earth.
Overview
The creation account reaches its high point as God deliberates, 'Let us make man in our image,' and grants humanity dominion over the creatures. The plural 'us' has been understood by many Christians as an early hint of the Trinity, while others see a plural of majesty or divine counsel; either way the verse sets humanity apart. Bearing God's image means humans are made to reflect his character and steward his world, a calling perfectly fulfilled in Christ, the true image of God (Colossians 1:15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 30
- Col 3:10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
- Eph 4:24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
- Ps 8:4–8what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
- Gen 3:22Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”
- Gen 5:1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in His own likeness.
- Ps 100:3Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
- 2 Cor 3:18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- Gen 9:2–4The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand.
- Isa 64:8But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
- Col 1:15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- Heb 2:6–9But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
- Jas 3:9With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
- 2 Cor 4:4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- 1 Cor 11:7A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
- Acts 17:28–29‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
- Gen 9:6Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
- Eccl 7:29Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
- Acts 17:26From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
- John 14:23Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
- 1 Jn 5:7For there are three that testify:
- Isa 6:8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!”
- Ps 149:2Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
- Ps 104:20–24You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the beasts of the forest prowl.
- Jas 3:7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
- Gen 11:7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
- Jer 27:6So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I have even made the beasts of the field subject to him.
- John 5:17But Jesus answered them, “To this very day My Father is at His work, and I too am working.”
- Job 35:10But no one asks, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives us songs in the night,
- Job 5:23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
- Acts 17:20For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Lay
The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.
Pastoral
The beloved devotional-pastoral classic, free and public domain — warm, quotable, verse by verse.
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 1:26 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.